Ridge Beam Roof Construction

It gives you something to nail the ends of the rafters to while assembling your roof.

Ridge beam roof construction. A structural ridge beam instead is used when the high ends of the rafters require independent support. The loads on the ridge beam are carried by vertical posts at the beam ends down through the building structural walls to the building foundation. A structural ridge beam is a horizontal beam placed at the peak or ridge of a roof and is designed to carry much of the live and dead loads or weight of the roof structure by itself. Framing in a ridge beam in shed roof construction is not hard.

This requires a secure connection of the rafters to the ridge beam at the top. One at the envelope of the structure on top of a framed wall or a header the other at the peak of the structure on top of the ridge beam. With this design the ridge beam bears much more load weight than the ridge board on a standard stick framed roof. Ridges in timber framing are typically called ridge beams rather than ridge.

A timber frame roof has rafters and a ridge beam as with stick framing but the ridge is a large structural beam that the rafters sit on top of or sometimes fit into notches cut into the beam. A classic example of the exposed ridge beam structure can be seen on our magnolia. Timber framing is a traditional method of framing that uses heavy timbers instead of standard board lumber. The sloped roof joists span between two pinned points.

Conventional construction of a gable roof or a frame roof uses a ridge board and this is primarily for ease of construction. I always always build trusses. Here s a picture of a gable style shed using a ridge beam.